PORT ANGELES — A student documentary film about the Elwha — both the Elwha River dam removal project and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe — attracted an overflow crowd at the first local showing Sunday.
“The Strong People,” a film that explored the interconnection between the river and the tribe, was created by Heather Hoglund and Matthew Lowe, both of whom now live in Boston, for their senior thesis at Emerson College in Boston.
More than 80 people attended the free Port Angeles premiere of the film at the Elwha Klallam Heritage Training Center, 401 E. First St.
“We were so shocked. So many people came to these things, it blows our minds,” Hoglund said.
The room was so full of interested people and a few of the film’s participants that additional chairs had to be brought in, and some attendees stood along the walls.
“We loved it. We bought a copy,” said Jennifer Eder, who saw the film with her husband, Kelvin Eder, of Orlando, Fla., as they had their copy signed by the filmmakers.
Kelvin Eder, 59, a former Port Angeles resident, said he has been following the dam-removal project since 2009, through the Peninsula Daily News and visits the area each summer.
Among the film’s featured Elwha members, Gordon Charles, 68, of Port Angeles was at the film’s premiere.
“I felt it was excellent. They did a good job,” Charles said.
Charles said he was impressed with the depth of material the film was able to capture with the limited time the filmmakers were able to spend in Port Angeles.
An evening outdoor screening of the film was also scheduled for at ToadLily International Hostel at 105 E. Fifth St.
Sunday evening’s screening wrapped up a four-show tour of the film, including showing at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle on Friday and at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival in Vancouver, Wash., on Saturday.
The Seattle film screening also was well-attended, Hoglund said.
The film is available for purchase at the website www.thestrongpeople.tumblr.com.
Cost is $5 for to view a streaming video, $10 for a digital download, $20 for a DVD or $25 for Blu-Ray disc.
Emerson offers two levels of degrees — a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
All students who complete Emerson’s program receive a BA in their respective fields, but to earn the BFA, they also must submit a senior project, Lowe said.
Hoglund was studying documentary production, and Lowe was a film and business major.
Lowe, a Seattle native, was on a visit home during a school break in 2011 when he struck upon the idea of making a film about the $325 million removal of the two Elwha River dams and the cultural connection the Elwha people have to the river, its salmon and the varied political and business interests along the river.
When he presented the idea to Hoglund, they suddenly realized that had three days until the September 2011 ceremony that marked the official beginning of the largest dam removal project in the history of the United States.
So, without time for their project to be approved by the school, they crossed their fingers and rushed to Port Angeles to begin filming.
By the time it was complete in spring 2013, the film had cost about $18,000 and had been funded through a crowd-funding website and grants, Lowe said.
At the end of the 2013 school year, when Lowe and Hoglund were set to graduate, the film was shown at the Emerson College senior project film festival.
“It won the award for outstanding documentary,” Lowe said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
